Some of the most delicious home-made candies are made with the addition of fruits to the other ingredients. All kinds of candied fruits, also many kinds of dried fruits, such as dates, figs, raisins and prunes may be used in candy-making. Many may not know that just as delicious candies can be made with our home-preserved fruits.

Candied fruits are in most cases expensive, but they can be made at home, and therefore the expense cut down. Cherries can be candied in the following manner: Select nice, large, and not over-ripe cherries for this purpose. Stone them carefully. Weigh the cherries, and to each pound of the fruit add two pounds of sugar, using only the best granulated for this purpose. Put the sugar in a kettle with one-half cupful of water, and boil to a thick syrup, removing all scum as it arises. Place a few of the cherries in at a time, and let simmer slowly until the fruit is transparent. Remove the fruit with a strainer, and add more of them until all have been cooked in this manner. Then place them back in syrup and let them stand over night in it. In the morning remove and place them out in the sun. It is a good idea to place them in a sieve, spreading them over it, and then cover the sieve with netting. They can be dried in the oven if desired, but one must be careful that they do not burn. When dried place in boxes between layers of paraffine paper, sprinkling each layer with powdered sugar. Place in a dry place until ready to use them in making candies. Pears, quinces, pineapples, peaches and plums may all be candied. Select firm-textured fruit and boil until tender in water before placing in the syrup; then proceed as in candying the cherries. Orange and lemon rind may also be candied. Remove the skin from the oranges or lemons in quarters and simmer in water until soft; then drain and remove all the white portion by scraping with a silver knife or spoon. Cut the oranges or lemons into small strips with the scissors, cook in the thick syrup, and roll in granulated sugar.

Quince Confections

Melt some fondant in a bowl, flavor with orange or lemon. Put some preserved quinces into the oven until dry. Dip each quarter into melted fondant. Place on oiled paper to dry. Preserved pineapple can be used in the same way.

Maraschino Drops

Take maraschino cherries. Dip into melted white or pink fondant that has been flavored with almond extract; then when hardened dip into melted chocolate fondant, or melted chocolate.

Strawberry Divinity Fudge

Place in a saucepan two cupfuls of granulated sugar, half a cupful of water and a fourth teaspoonful of cream of tartar. Boil to the hard ball stage. Add one glassful of whole preserved strawberries and boil up again. Pour the mixture over the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs and beat up until light and foamy. When the mixture begins to harden pour into buttered pans and when cool cut into squares. Any thick preserved fruits can be used in the same way. Preserved strawberries and preserved pineapple are good combined, half and half of each being used. If pear preserves are used a little chopped ginger will be an improvement.

Tutti-Frutti Cream

Melt one pound of fondant in a double-boiler, add one teaspoonful of vanilla or orange flavor; then add one tablespoonful of strawberry preserves (using only the berries), one tablespoonful of preserved cherries, two tablespoonfuls of preserved or candied pineapple, and one tablespoonful each of peach and pear preserves. The addition also of a teaspoonful each of candied orange and lemon peel will improve the mixture. When partly cool pour into a mold for slicing or form into bonbon shapes. If not quite stiff enough add powdered sugar to make of the right consistency to mold nicely. These can be rolled in powdered sugar or dipped in colored melted fondant or coated with chocolate.

Pear Caramels

Place in a saucepan two cupfuls of light brown sugar, one cupful of corn syrup, half a cupful of good milk and one tablespoonful of butter. Boil for a few minutes, then add one cupful of preserved pears, half a cupful of chopped candied ginger and a fourth cupful of candied lemon peel. Boil to the hard ball stage, add one teaspoonful of orange flavor and pour into pans. When cold cut into squares. Peach caramels are made in the same manner, only instead of the candied ginger a cupful of chopped almonds is added, the orange or lemon peel is omitted and almond extract used.

Marzipan Fruit Candies

Delicious fruit candies can be made by using marzipan paste. To make this paste take one cup of blanched almonds and run them through a food chopper; then pound to a fine flour. Place in a bowl and add to this flour the same amount of powdered sugar. Use enough water, rose water, orange juice or grape juice to make stiff paste—about three ounces will be enough. Beat an egg up stiff and work it into the paste. Roll out the marzipan an inch thick and cut into rounds or squares. Place a bit of preserved fruit on each one and mold the paste up around it. Place in the oven until the candies are dry. Another way to make the paste is to boil the ingredients. Use about three ounces of rose water or other liquid to the amount of almonds and sugar given above. Stir over a slow fire until when touched with the finger the syrup will cling. When cool knead into a paste.

Surprise Dates

Select some nice large dates and remove the stones. Fill some of the cavities with chopped raisins, figs, nuts and so forth, and some with chopped candied cherries; try to have the varieties of fillings as great as possible. Fondant with several different flavorings may also be used. Dip some of these stuffed dates in chocolate fondant, some in different colored fondants and some in plain white. Every date eaten then will prove to be a surprise and delight.

Marshmallow Fruit Fudge

Tear out a piece from the center of each marshmallow, being careful not to make a hole quite through it. Fill the cavities thus formed with any good preserved fruit. Make a chocolate fudge and pour it over the marshmallows, which should have been placed on greased paper in a pan. Be sure that the fruit is entirely covered. When cold cut out in cakes; they can be dipped in chocolate or left as they are. These are delicious and will prove an agreeable surprise to those who have never eaten them before.

Frosted Fruit Fudge

Make a good chocolate fudge, beating it until creamy, and pour it into a greased pan to about an inch in depth. When this is almost hard cover with any thick preserved fruit desired. Then place in a kettle one cup of granulated sugar, a fourth cupful of water and a pinch of cream of tartar. When the mixture has boiled to the hard ball stage pour it over the stiffly beaten white of one egg, add a teaspoonful of vanilla, or the kind of flavoring that will combine best with the fruit used, and beat up until light and foamy. Pour this over the fruit in the pan. When cold cut into squares, and you will have a delicious candy. Nut meats can be mixed in with the fruit. Almonds are also very good combined with peach preserves.

Cherry Foam

Place in a saucepan two cupfuls of granulated sugar, half a cupful of water and a fourth teaspoonful of cream of tartar. Boil until it forms a hard ball. Just before taking the syrup from the fire stir in a cupful of preserved cherries—the clear, transparent kinds are best. Pour the mixture over the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs and beat until light and foamy. Lay whole candied cherries two inches apart on waxed or greased paper and drop the foam by spoonfuls on these, pressing candied cherries on top of each. This candy is not only delicious but pretty to the eye as well.

Fig Favorites

Select the best quality of figs and steam until soft, then make an incision in each lengthwise and stuff with chopped nut meats. Close and place on a buttered pan. Boil together two cupfuls of sugar, one-half cupful of water, and one-fourth teaspoonful of cream of tartar. Boil until it will make a hard ball when dropped into cold water, flavor with a little vanilla, and then pour over the stuffed figs. When nearly cold mark off into squares, then dip in melted chocolate.

Pineapple Marshmallows

Soak four ounces of gum arabic in one cupful of pineapple juice until dissolved; then strain through cheese-cloth. Put into a saucepan with one-half pound of best powdered sugar and place saucepan in a pan of hot water on the stove. Stir the mixture until it becomes thick and white. Drop a little into cold water, and if it becomes a firm ball, remove from the fire and whip into it the stiffly beaten whites of three eggs. Flavor with a teaspoonful of vanilla. Dust a square pan with corn-starch and pour in the mixture until an inch thick. Let it stand in a cool place for twelve hours, then cut it into inch squares and roll in a mixture of powdered sugar and corn-starch.

Fruit Chocolate Balls

Take one cupful each of dates, seeded raisins and English walnut meats. Pass through a food chopper. Form into balls, and dip into melted chocolate fondant.

Watermelon Dainty

Take two cupfuls of sugar, one-fourth cupful of water, one tablespoonful of white corn syrup, and a pinch of cream of tartar and boil until it spins a thread or to 230 degrees. Pour over the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs, and beat up until light and foamy. Add one teaspoonful of vanilla, one cupful of chopped preserved watermelon rind, and one-half cupful of chopped nut meats. Color pink with a little red fruit or vegetable coloring. Pour into a buttered pan or mold to cool and cut into squares.

Date Delight

Take two cupfuls of light brown sugar, one cupful of milk, and one tablespoonful of butter. Boil to the soft ball stage. Add a teaspoonful of vanilla, and one cupful of chopped dates. Beat up until creamy. Pour into buttered pan or mold, and cut into squares when cold.

Stuffed Prunes

Remove the stones from the prunes. Crack the stones and chop up the pits. Add the chopped pits to chopped dates, and fill the cavities of the prunes with the mixture. Dip the prunes in melted fondant. Another way to stuff the prunes is to stone some dates, fit a cherry inside of each date, then fit the date into the prune, and dip in the fondant. The prunes should be soaked in water for several hours before stuffing, and should be drained and wiped dry. Prunes filled with fondant or fondant and nuts mixed are also delicious.

Fruit Roll

Cook two cupfuls of brown sugar, one-half cupful of golden corn syrup and one-fourth cupful of water until it spins a thread. Remove from the fire and add the grated rind of one lemon and one orange, and a teaspoonful of the juice of each, one cupful of seeded raisins, one cupful of English currants, one-half cupful of cocoanut, one-half cupful of dates, and one-fourth cupful of figs; these fruits should all be run through a food chopper. Stir all until it forms a mass. Roll out into a thin sheet, and then roll up like a jelly roll, and cut into thin slices.

Jelly Cake Candy

Melt some fondant and pour into a square or round mold. Candy boxes lined with waxed paper will do. When cool place over this a thin layer of some thick jelly, such as currant, red raspberry, or orange; then pour over this another layer of fondant, and when this has cooled spread with another thin layer of jelly and pour over the top some more fondant. The layers of fondant may be colored differently if desired, and flavored to suit the jelly used. When cold turn out of mold, and cut into thin slices.

---

[90]
[91]
[92]
[93]